Electrical protector for automobiles and similar vehicles.



G. A. MERRILL. ELECTRICAL PROTECTOR FOR AUTOMOBILES AND SIMILARVEHICLES.

APPLICATlON FILED FEES], 1914.

1,1 31,405. Patented M21119, 1915.

GUY Anms MERRILL, or new YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRICAL PROTECTOR FOR AUTOMOBILES AND SIMILAR VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 9, 1915.

Application filed February 9, 1914. Serial No. 817,385.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUY ADAMS MERRILL, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inElectrical Protectors for Automobiles and Similar Vehicles, of which thefollowing is a specification.

While applicable to vehicles ganerally my invention is intended moreparticularly for use on automobiles on which electrically actuated hornsare used, and is designed to effect an automatic alarm by sounding ofthe horn in the absence of the chaufieur, should an intruder or thiefattempt while the car is otherwise unoccupied to start the machine,steal the usual extra tire mounted thereon or any other article notpermanently attached thereto, all as hereinafter described and claimedspecifically.

In the accompanyingdiagram the essential features of the invention areillustrated symbolically, H, representing an. electric horn of anydesired or well known construction, such as is usually employed onautomobiles, and B, the electric battery for actuating said horn whenthe circuit is closed. In this connection it is to be understood thatthe term horn H, as employed'herein is used to desi 'nate any soundingdevice electrically operaed. The horn or sounder and its battery may bepositioned in any convenient manner upon the automobile, the batterybeing usually placed upon the left hand side of the running board.

77, represents a push button or other form of circuit closer used by thechauffeur when he desires to close the primary circuit 0, c, 0 to soundthe horn H, in the usual way. This push button p, is situated on the carin convenient roximity to the chaufi'eurs seat. Also wit in convenientreach of the chauffeur is positioned the lock switch L.

This switch is arranged to automatically lock the connection betweenwires 0, c, 0 when the bell crank lever Z, is swung down into contactwith the conductor c,the spring latch l, engaging the lower arm of thebell crank lever and retaining it until released by a special keydesigned to afford exclusiveness, such as a yale lock, or tumbler key.In fact any form of-automatic safety lock may be em loved for thepurpose,which when the chau eur leaves his car he may be enabled by asimple movement to connect.

the conductors 0*, 0 which connection cannot be broken except by the useof an individual key inserted in the key hole Z of the lock L. 1 Thelocked connection of the wires 0, 0 does not close the electric circuit.It simply renders possible the completing of the auxiliary circuit byany one of the closmg devices t, e, or a, and possibly others that mightbe interposed in the circuit system considered as a whole, so thatduring the chaufieurs absence the closing of any one of these auxiliaryswitches will sound an alarm on the horn H. Thus the automatic circuitcloser t, is arranged for the protection of the extra tiret, (indicatedin cross section. in the drawing) almost invariably carried uponautomobiles and which is apt to be an object of special attention on thepart of sneak thieveswho usually out the retaining straps, by which thetires are secured in position, as a preliminary to carrying oif thetire. To obviate this I so arrange that the tire (or one portion of itat least) shall when strapped to its holder, press back a springplungercarrying a circuit closer or contact bridge as will be readilyunderstood by reference to t, of the drawing. Obviously if thefastenings are severed and the tire t, withdrawn the spring plunger willclose the circuit 0, c 0 c, a, and sound the alarm.

A similar spring plunger 0, may be ar-' ranged to act in conjunctionwith the emergency' brake lever e, of the machine, the

- lever when thrown on pressing the plunger back against the resistanceof the spring as indicated in the drawing and maintaining the circuit inopen condition. Should the emergency brake lever e, be tampered with orreversed,-the spring immediately causes the plunger 6, to close thecircuit c, 0 c 0 c, 0 c, c, and sound the alarm. In like manner a knifeswitch a, or equivalent may be arranged to protect extra wraps, clothingor other articles left temporarily in the car, or any object such as atime watch, clock or other article of convenience used on but notpermanently attached to the car. Thus by attaching one end of a flexibleconnection to the knife blade or similar switch a, with a ring orsimilar contrivance at the other end of said connection, cords a, a, maybe run from the latter, said cords being provided with clamps of, forattachment to any article otherwise loose and removable. The theft ofconvertible personal property of the character last desi nated isusually attempted by boys or sma l sneak thieves, not bold enough, tootherwise tamper with the car, thieves of the snatch and run class whowould not dare to take time to unfasten the clamps a', while the hornwas sounding an alarm, so that by making the connections a, a,'metallic, as of wire or chain, the closing of the switch a, when anyone of -its connections was pulled would afford ample protection.

It is obvious that it would be very im probable that either of theswitches t, e, or a, would be brought into action simultaneously, asthey represent each adifi'erent class of theft. A car stealer wouldreverse the emergency lever, while a tire thief would be apt to neglectthe emergency lever, clothing &-c. In any event the alarm would soundcontinuously whether one or a plural number of switches were closedwhich is the whole object of the invention. It is also obvious as beforeintimated that additional switches may be included in the generalcircuit, to be used in like manner for the purpose of sounding the hornin certain emergencies not herein specified, and that the switches shownand described may be used for various purposes other than thoseillustrated so that I do not limit myself in this respect.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. An electric alarm systemof the character designated, comprising aprimary circuit, an electric sounding device, a battery, a manuallyoperated circuit closer interposed in said primary circuit, an auxiliarycircuit in which is interposed a plurality of switches each adapted tobe held normally open by contact with a removable article and to closeautomatically when said article is withdrawn, a single lock switchcontrolling the common connection between said primary circuit and saidauxiliary circuit and lockingthevsame without closing the electriccircuit, and permittingcompletion of the auxiliary circuit by any one ofthe plurality of closing devices each independently of the other. I

2. An electric alarm of the character designated, comprising an electricsounding device, a primary circuit to sound the same,

a manual control therefor, a lock switch embodying a spring latch and abell crank lever cooperating with and controlled by said latch andhaving one arm movable for contact with a conductor for automaticallycontrolling a circuit and enabling the completion of an auxiliarycircuit, and a plurality of closing devices included in the circuitsystem for completing such auxiliary circuit.

3. An electric alarm system of the character designated, comprising anelectric sounding device and a manually operated circuit closer, aprimary circuit in which said circuit closer 1s interposed, an auxiliarycircuit, a plurality of normally 0 en switches interposed therein, eachadapte to be closed by the withdrawal of an article connected

